Wii Culture

At the Superbowl party I was at this year, we skipped the pre-game show for some four-player Wii Tennis action. Well smack me with a Wiimote, I had a lot of fun. Like a lot of people are talking about these days, I felt a sort of epiphany about what video games are and can be. But not only that, I really noticed a sort of Wii culture in the room. A growing group of Wii fanboys. People are getting really hardcore about their love for this thing. Yesterday I posted a graph on my blog comparing online buzz among the competing consoles. Discussion about the Wii is crushing the competition. It's becoming a hugely influential piece of culture these days.

In many ways, the Wii is the American Idol of the gaming world - it appeals to all demographics, and even brings them together as families. Ultimately, as the Wii picks up cultural steam, this ability to bring tweens, teens, and parents into the same room might be what tips it and the gaming world into the cultural mainstream. The industry is prime - arguably already mainstream. The video game industry grew almost 20% in 2006 to $12.5 billion in the U.S., and there are now 1.1 million Wiis in use in America. And it seems that about half the people I talk to lately would buy one if they could only get their hands on one. My feeling is that the Wii will take gaming to as yet undiscovered territory in the cultural consciousness. Yes, the gaming industry is huge. But the Wii takes it to new places.

Another reason for its initial success, as Noah Brier points out, is that the Wii is "changing the conversation" when it comes to video games. The conversation it's creating is one that is much more inclusive and easy to take part in. Gaming with the Wii is not a chore, it's fun and simple. The spoof Apple ad comparing PS3 and Wii characters is a good way at looking at the huge paradigm shift the Wii has created for itself.

The Wii changes some other conversations, too. Culture is starting to bubble up around this thing. DJ Shift 1's "WiiJ" video is unbelievable - a must see. If this hack is real, which seems to be the case, what an incredible creation that adds a new level of physicality to DJing. What if the Wii can own the idea of adding physical gestures to all things digital. If not, the Wii at least inspires imagination towards what could be next with this new interface…or what may not be next (as this College Humor video imagines).

And how about this as conversation: you can break a sweat playing the Wii. I may be pushing the limit at this point, but for all the people out there worried about the sedentary lifestyles of youth - how does the Wii change the negative perception of gaming? We learned yesterday that video games improve eye sight. While I don't expect the Wii will make anyone fit, there's good reason to believe it will help shift the perception of gaming as a lazy activity.

Just wait for people get their hands on the boxing glove.

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